Reply to post: What???

What???

There is no solid evidence of a fall in quality, he countered, and pointed out that the number of appeals had actually fallen. "The mere fact that more patents are granted does not mean that the quality suffers," he argued.

What rubbish!!! If EPO rejects a patent, the filer will presumably appeal. If the patent is accepted, of course there will be no appeal. So less appeals is an obvious result of more patents granted. Mor epatents granted means either an upsurge in quality of patent filings, or a lowering of standards for accepting filings of the same quality. My money is on the second.